subject: Social Media Lies [print this page] There are two groups of people will not be happy after reading this. The first group is the people who are searching for that magic pill to get lots of fans. The second group is the social media "experts" who pass their courses and solutions as the magic pill.
But before that, a quick question do you notice that every other guy you meet is claiming to be an expert on social media/Facebook these days?
It's interesting because they feel like they know how to use (or play) Facebook, they're labeling themselves as the "experts". Even many "experts" or social media company are NOT experts, even if they do it for Nestle or Angelina Jolie (you'll understand why after reading this rant).
It's rather simple to brand themselves as "Facebook experts" or "digital media companies" because these terms are vague -- if you call yourself a best-selling author, you need to BE a best-selling author. If you promote yourself as an internet millionaire, then you have to BE an internet millionaire.
The harsh reality is, there isn't any magic pill that will get you hundreds of thousands of fans on your Facebook fan page. Face it. Read all of the courses you want, attend all of the seminars you need you won't find that magic pill.
So how do they get massive fans then?
The truth is, unless you a famous person or brand, you will not be able to get the huge number of fans that these fan pages have. If you are just an ordinary guy (meaning you don't have an Angelina Jolie brand attached to you), you'll have to spend money to get your fans, like buying Facebook ads. You will become a broke marketer if you don't have a strategy to monetize on your fans. Then we have problem #2 - how to monetize?
There are Facebook marketers who sell their courses by displaying how they helped celebrities or big brands. But come on do you think it's their strategies or because Starbucks AUTOMATICALLY attract fans on its own? You'll be the judge. To give these experts their due credit, even if their strategies are successful, there is nothing specil about them - post valuable content, encourage people to discuss about it and share it with others.
Sure, there are so many so called "social media" experts who teach you how to make big bucks with social media. Of course they're doing this! Facebook is a hot topic right now and anyone will want to jump at the opportunity to make money with it.
What you should really be asking these experts is if they have as many fans on their fan pages. If you check their fan pages, you'll notice that they don't have so many fans after all.
And if they do, are there any engagement or they're just Likes bought at Fiverr?
It's really funny watching all these Facebook "gurus" or social media "experts" talk about how fantastic their software is and talking AS IF they know about fan page marketing and getting 100,000 or 1,000,000 fans. Then they pitch to you, asking you to pitch to local businesses the same promises! Funny crap.
So there is no real secret to getting a lot of fans on Facebook.
It's either because you are a celebrity or you are an established brand/product.
For an ordinary man or woman, it will take some time, unless you don't have a problem with spending lots of money.
Of course, at the same time, there are exceptions and these are the rare ones. There are fanpages created by ordinary people that have gone viral and being liked with 100,000 fans. In fact, in any industry or niche, you can always find exceptions - Harry Potter, Angry Birds and so on. Many authors have tried and don't succeed. Thousands of games have been developed and likewise crashed. Make sense?
The Run Of The Mill Fanpage Marketing Advice Taught By The "Gurus"
If you take a look at what these experts are teaching, you will notice one similar thing. Building a relationship with your fans is always the principle. This isn't something that is achieved overnight. It takes time to build a relationship, establish credibility and all those other good stuff.
Are you up for that? Otherwise, be prepared to be sorely disappointed.
To wrap up
A Facebook fan page is a fantastic platform but there is just no magic pill that will allow you to have 100,000 fans in a short time. If you just want to make money, of course a fan page can help you achieve that.
So stop thinking how did Tony Robins or Starbucks have so many fans -- the answer is because they are Tony Robbins and Starbucks. But here's the kicker nobody said that you cannot be a "celebrity" or "brand", unless you are not willing to invest in your own business by putting in the time to set up a fan page and build relationships.
